China has submitted applications to UNESCO to preserve the archives that prove the suffering of "comfort women" and make it part of the UN body's Memory of the World program.

The application follows recent comments by leading Japanese politicians and academics casting doubt on the plight of the comfort women.

The Japanese Imperial Army had a policy of forcing women captured in occupied lands to work as sex slaves in military brothels.

Beijing's applications to UNESCO regarding the Nanjing Massacre and comfort women aim to "remember the history, cherish the peace and avert similar inhuman atrocities from taking place again", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday.

The Memory of the World program is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity and protect experiences from being lost through neglect or denial.

The first CHeriScape conference will set the scene for the series by getting to the heart of the issue: how can the idea of landscape as heritage begin to ‘make a difference’. Assisted by well-informed and influential speakers from both landscape and heritage fields, participants at this two day conference will be able to use the forum offered by the conference to consider how landscape can be reflected in heritage policy at European and national levels and conversely, how can policy be made to reflect landscape and heritage in mainstream areas of social, economic and environmental policy.

Larimer Square is Denver's first commercial district in the 1400 block of Larimer Street, which was built between 1862 and 1892. The block itself consisted of 18 Victorian style buildings constructed in the nineteenth century, remaining as an example of the lifestyle of the western pioneer in Denver's heyday. Between 1860s and 1960s, Larimer Square had experienced a mysterious prosperity and a horrible decline. Now, one hundred and thirty years later, Larimer Square is also a unique place for both Denverites and visitors to spend a day shopping, because an impressive collection of exclusive retail shops, fine restaurants, and specialty stores gathers here. While shopping and eating, people also can read about the distinctive past from historic buildings. The historical preservation action changed the characteristics of Larimer Square into a specialty shopping area which had been compared to Ghirardelli square in San Francisco, Gaslight in St. Louis, Old Town in Chicago, and Shadyside in Pittsburgh.

Conference aims:- To address management and protection strategies of underwater cultural heritage in Asia and the countries of the Indian and Pacific Oceans in the 21st Century- To facilitate regional cooperation through the development of academic and governmental networks in the Asia-Pacific region- To provide a forum for discussion of technical and ethical issues related to underwater cultural heritage and underwater archaeology

In a historic city, physical setting determines the uniqueness of a place, and the social and cultural activities in the physical setting enrich its cultural value. Along with the demands of modernization, the development of heritage tourism facilitates urban conservation, but it also challenges the meaning of the ‘authenticity’ of a historic city. The case study of the Ancient City of Pingyao, China, illustrates the city was transformed via political changes, and the functions of the traditional anchor elements in its city centre shifted; yet, the sense of place, in the form of collective memory, remained in its anchor elements across generations. However, memorable events, either personal or collective, are eclipsed by the over-emphasis on authenticity in the tourist setting. If the priority objective of preserving a historic city is to continue the local way of life, it is important to approach the discourses of authenticity of a historic city from the settlement's integrity, including the authenticity in physical setting, tourist setting and sense of place. (View full-text)

When the 'Open Door' policy was adopted by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, China was facing globalisation challenges. The desire for modernity and the influence of the West have both challenged traditional Chinese culture and accelerated the destruction of its historical cities. Historical cities with high cultural value, if they are to survive, must be treated as cultural capital for urban conservation on the national level and economic resources for heritage development on the local level. The case study of the Ancient City of Pingyao indicates that the application of authorised heritage conservation and development at all levels of government created non-reversible socio-cultural impacts on the local community, including the displacement of the local population and public services and the elimination of local activities from the traditional living context. Often as a result of the debate over 'whose heritage?' and 'restoration for whom?' local residents with limited access to heritage become disconnected from their city. (View full-text)

Citation: Wang, S.-y. (2012). From a Living City to a World Heritage City – Authorized Heritage Conservation and Development Policies and Their Impact on the Local Community. International Development Planning Review, 34(1), 1-17.

AbstractIn an historic urban context, physical setting forms an environment that generates the uniqueness of a place, and the activities in this physical setting enrich its cultural value. Along with the demands of modernisation, changes and development are inevitable in an historic settlement. In addition to the need for economic development within the nation, the concept of heritage development in China has also been strongly influenced by political reforms and civil wars during the past 100 years. This paper explores the development of heritage tourism in the Ancient City of Pingyao under these apparent and hidden factors since it was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1997.

Citation: Wang, S.-y. (2008). A mirror with two sides - heritage development and urban conservation in the Ancient City of Pingyao, China. Historic Environment, 21(3), 22-26.

This conference seeks to engage in an open multi-disciplinary analysis of iron and steel landscapes and cultures, from the ancient to the modern. It looks toward the legacies of both production and consumption and how these metals have influenced all aspects of social life.

The Ancient City of Pingyao in the Shanxi Province is the birthplace of the draft banking/financial system in China, and is the hometown of Jin Merchants Faction, the major business group in northern China. Many picturesque buildings were built by Jin Merchants and the gentries in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. After the Jin Merchants culture declined around 1911, Pingyao was neglected by the public and private sectors because it lacked the natural resources necessary for industrial development. However, this saved the city from major destruction and kept the city intact until the present. When China started its economic and political reform in 1978, domestic and international tourism became possible. Its historical significance and architectural integrity enabled the Ancient City of Pingyao to be inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997. Now the city has become a domestic and international tourism destination. It has experienced different social and cultural impacts, both directly and indirectly, from the development of heritage tourism, since the walled city started its preparation for the World Heritage nomination.

The institutionalizing idea of cultural preservation emerged as early as 1854 with John Ruskin’s calling for the organization of historic monuments. Since then, cultural heritage has always been the major concern when there is the potential for tremendous damage. Conservation of cultural heritage was not much of an issue until the twentieth century as “[i]t was a century of dramatic urban expansion, improvement, and redefinition, but it was also a century when urban architectural culture was destroyed at a rate unmatched in human history” (Tung, 2001). It was also in the twentieth century, when many countries and international institutions spent much effort and achieved more to remind the world of the importance of preventing our cultural heritages from damage and loss.